Chapter 119. Mammals (3)
[Quiet Tomb].
This is an E-Class Gate located in Gampo.
And this gate had its own peculiar role.
It kept household waste generated in the Gampo area inside.
Once the trash filled up to a certain point, hunters summoned by public institutions were promised to enter and defeat the boss.
So, what kind of outcome would arise?
In fact, this was a new waste disposal method that utilized the fact that cleared gates disappear from Earth.
Unlike incineration or burial, it caused no environmental pollution, making it a method favored by most countries.
Not just in Gampo town.
In truth, many cities were dumping their trash into gates.
And this process brought secondary benefits to humanity.
The aforementioned E-Class Gate, the Quiet Tomb, was already rumored to be unprofitable for hunters.
“Items don’t drop. There’s no skin to be scavenged. Ugh, honestly, there’s just no profit in visiting places like this, right?”
“Right. Just the cost of potions increases.”
It’s only natural that hunting grounds with low returns would be avoided.
So the government, wanting to make use of unpopular gates that were difficult to deal with, adopted this waste disposal method with a happy heart.
But today, an incident occurred at the trash disposal gate.
Moreover, it wasn’t something that happened overnight.
This situation had been developing for as long as four days.
“Let’s see, the tomb disposal site is starting to get full.”
A day ago, an employee of the association had called in a hunter team to close the gate, which was filled with trash.
Of course, since the Quiet Tomb was an E-Class Gate, they naturally hired E-Class Awakened as cleaners.
“Alright, everyone. From now on, you’ll go inside to clear out the trash mobs and quickly defeat the boss before coming back. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Yes!”
But then, unexpectedly.
The E-Class team that entered to clean never returned until sundown.
The responsible officer found this odd and checked inside the gate.
It was only then that the source of the problem was belatedly discovered.
“What, what’s this? What are those little birds? This gate was supposed to only have slimes living in it…….”
A sudden change in the internal ecosystem.
Indeed. That so-called abnormal phenomenon had come to this trash heap as well.
This place was no longer an E-Class Gate.
‘Crazy!’
This is why there was a regulation to re-assess gate difficulty before letting cleaners in.
The association employee thought, “How could anything happen in an E-Class?” and had been lax in oversight.
And the price of negligence caught up today.
With a shocking outcome of five E-Class hunters’ deaths.
‘What should I do?’
Of course, the hunters who didn’t cross-check themselves share some responsibility…….
But primarily, shouldn’t the initial cause lie with this individual who violated safety regulations?
The officer was horrified at witnessing the casualties.
The subsequent response was even more laughable.
“What? The Quiet Tomb is undergoing an abnormal mutation?”
“Yes, yes!”
“What’s the new grade?”
“Uh, um, it’s D-Class! There were some little birds wandering around, and the analyzer showed they were D-Class!”
The branch of the Hunter Association he belonged to, having only heard the basic report, immediately dispatched D-Class hunters.
This rash choice would soon return with further casualties.
The recent abnormal transformations had been mostly radical and unpredictable in nature.
Gurururuk.
Chirp, chirp chirp…….
Thus, it was essential to consider that higher-level monsters might cohabit deep within the gate.
Gaaaak!
The two additional D-Class cleaners who entered couldn’t escape the inevitable disaster due to the association’s careless handling.
Upon entering the dungeon, they found numerous enemies with magic levels reaching C-Class, contrary to what the association had said.
But by the time they figured it out, the two hunters had already sustained fatal injuries.
Moreover, the people of this country, as always, often sacrificed a bit of safety in excuse of saving budget.
“Ugh!”
Korea’s public institutions push the limits of waste storage to cut costs when hiring cleaners.
In simpler terms, they leave E-Class gates like this untouched, letting monsters permeate until six days have passed.
However, this gate had already seen two failed attempts at clearing during such an important time…….
Kyaaaak!
Ultimately, the result unfurled.
[Quiet Tomb] triggered a Dungeon Break.
And an hour after this event.
“What on earth is happening?”
The once quiet town erupted in chaos.
First of all, the red cocoon encircling the pine forest was too conspicuous.
“Everyone, don’t come near! It’s a Dungeon Break.”
As onlookers gathered, the dispatched staff hurriedly set up a quarantine line and restrained the residents.
Now all they had to do was wait for a high-ranking hunter to resolve this flesh-eating nest.
“Oh no!”
“Don’t push!”
But just then.
A white-haired old man rushed in among the crowd.
As soon as he saw the staff in front of the cocoon, he shouted loudly.
“Excuse me! Did anyone see a Han Soo-yeon here?”
“Han Soo-yeon?”
“Yes! She’s my granddaughter, and she was supposed to come here to work today, but I haven’t heard from her since……!”
It turned out he was a family member of a hunter, having sprinted upon hearing breaking news of trouble at the dungeon where his granddaughter headed.
However, what followed was a truly devastating line for the old man.
“Um, if you’re referring to a D-Class hunter named Han Soo-yeon, her death has just been confirmed by a colleague.”
Hearing this thunderbolt-like news, his face twisted in horror.
He’d had a heavy heart since putting on his shoes earlier.
In shock, the old man stood dumbfounded for a while before finally asking.
“Th-Then where is she now……?”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t accept his granddaughter’s death.
He just needed to bring his family back.
He trembled as he inquired about the location of the body, to which the association staff responded.
“Well….”
The employee silently gazed towards the direction of the red cocoon.
Never did he think his granddaughter would be in such a horrific place.
Upon hearing that answer, the old man went mad.
“My child is still there? Oh no! Soo-yeon!”
“E-Excuse me! You can’t go in there!”
“Move! How can you let my granddaughter be left in a place like that?”
Additionally, the white-haired man’s voice was gradually laced with pent-up anger.
The news said this incident was caused by a mistake made by the association employee managing the trash.
Why should my granddaughter die for your mistake?
And why shouldn’t you take responsibility and bring back our child who died because of you?
It was an unimaginable big cry that couldn’t be believed to come from such a frail body.
“Shit!”
“Pardon! Please calm down!”
“Oh dear. What a disaster!”
The spectators watching this felt pity for the old man, but at the same time thought it was truly unavoidable.
This area was sparsely populated, so there were few hunters.
Even the scarce awakeners all left for the city in search of gates that matched their levels.
“While you fumble like this, my granddaughter is becoming monster food, huh? You bastards!”
As the saying goes, you realize what you’ve lost only after it’s gone.
Now that the incident had escalated, the association finally decided to send an overwhelming A-Class team to the Quiet Tomb.
Yet, because of that, the entire handling process slowed down several times over.
There wasn’t a single A-Class hunter in Gampo, so they had to recruit personnel from the nearby Gyeongju.
So, how many hours would it take until everything was settled?
And what would happen to the bodies of the D-Class hunters surrounded by monsters during that time?
“Huh….”
The white-haired old man now clung to the employees’ garments, pleading.
“Please, just recover the body.”
But there came no answer.
“Please… if someone could at least bring back our granddaughter’s body…….”
Instead, some staff sent him cold glares.
The circumstances were dire, but honestly, it sounded like asking someone to enter a danger zone for a corpse.
“Oh dear, how did my poor family end up in this situation…….”
At this rate, a coffin would be prepared for them.
The old man’s heart shattered.
And in that same location, a reporter was capturing this scene without missing a beat.
Wait a minute.
Just now, off to the side of the viewfinder, he felt he might have seen something strange move…….
“Hmm?”
The reporter absentmindedly turned the lens.
And thus realized that what he saw was not an illusion.
“Ugh!”
Rustle.
Someone was now walking out of the nest.
Click!
The reporter instinctively pressed the shutter button, but upon seeing the subsequent scene, he nearly dropped his equipment in shock.
‘K-Kim Gi-ryeo?!’
Emerging from the nest was none other than the fourth S-Class?
But for some reason, the person did not seem to be in a normal state.
A blood-soaked torso.
A silver harpoon embedded in wounds.
Just seeing this set the atmosphere on edge.
At that moment.
The old man, who had been sitting, pointed at the hunter holding a woman in his arms and shouted.
“S-Soo-yeon!”
Could that sky-blue hair belong to the granddaughter mentioned earlier?
There was no time to ask questions.
The old man dashed toward his family at breakneck speed.
“That’s right! It’s Soo-yeon! My granddaughter.”
As the aging Earthling sobbed and wailed, one of the association staff, with a surprised expression, asked.
“Uh, who are you coming out from there…?”
It seemed this person didn’t follow the news much.
“Uh? C-Could it be Hunter Kim Gi-ryeo?”
Fortunately, not everyone reacted the same way.
Other employees nearby quickly recognized his face.
Gi-ryeo didn’t respond even when his name was called for a while.
In the moment of silence, someone finally raised their voice.
“Thank you! Sir!”
That was the old man’s exclamation.
“Thank you so much for bringing my girl back. Wuu.”
Bowing repeatedly while choked up with tears.
Thus, the old man received his family’s remains from the hunter before him.
At that moment, Kim Gi-ryeo seemed to reluctantly let go of the corpse, almost as if he was unable to hold on against the old man’s strength…
But that was probably just a feeling.
“Excuse me, Hunter. But if I may ask, why are you coming out from there?”
Now it was time to explain the situation.
The employees were somewhat bewildered by the sudden appearance of an S-Class, having received no prior information.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Gi-ryeo spoke dryly.
“I apologize. I happened to overhear an association employee saying there was a dead hunter in this cocoon.”
It was essentially a confession…….
“I went inside to retrieve that hunter.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
However, this confession could significantly lessen the severity in terms of South Korean law.
Moreover, he had several other excuses to use besides that.
“…But since the body has returned to the family, isn’t everything alright in the end?”
“Yes?”
“Well, this time… it’s not like I harmed anyone, so could you give me a break? Of course, I’m also reflecting on this. I’ll never do this again.”
Confession.
Emphasizing that the crime was attempted but did not succeed.
A heartfelt apology.
Following this, Gi-ryeo struggled for leniency.
Yet there was one crucial thing he overlooked.
‘Hmm?’
That was the subject.
The previous sentences all seemed to lack that important component.
‘What on earth is this person asking to be let off for?’
The association employees paused momentarily upon hearing Gi-ryeo’s words but soon reached a similar conclusion.
‘Ah, could it be he’s apologizing for entering the restricted area without permission?’
Logically, the only thing an S-Class hunter would need to apologize for was that.
“Oh no, it’s fine! No problem at all.”
The association employees waved their hands in rejection.
“I think you might be misunderstanding something; this quarantine line is set up to prevent civilians from unknowingly crossing over, and hunters aren’t subject to it.”
“…”
“Thus, entering a breached dungeon without our permission is fine. Plus, you’re an S-Class after all.”
Imagine how absurd this explanation must have sounded to Gi-ryeo.
“?”
A few seconds later.
The man with three hundred eyes realized that their conversation wasn’t connecting.
“Yes.”
However, considering his position, he decided to go along with the flow for now.
